Eduard Atuesta 2020 – scout report | OneFootball

LAFC midfielder Eduard Atuesta is one of the exciting talents on the team. The Colombian player shone exceedingly in previous seasons and became one of the most important players in the team. But since his role on the field is defensive, not many fans notice him. So he isn’t as praised as his teammates.

In this tactical analysis in the form of scout report, we will look at the qualities of Atuesta, and the roles that made him one of the best midfielders in MLS.

Atuesta at the build-up phase

LAFC is a team that relies on direct attacks, as it tries to move the ball quickly to the final third, then tries to create a numerical advantage on the side and penetrate the opponent’s box.

Atuesta has a significant role in the success of this method, as it plays an important role in moving the ball to the final third during the build-up phase.

Atuesta is a player who has a good vision of the field and provides accurate passes. Moreover, his coach Bob Bradley made him use these characteristics, to help his team move the ball to the opponent’s half in a clean manner.

Atuesta plays 60.8 passes per match with a success rate of 87.2%, but the best part is that more than 30% of his passes are forward. The success rate for his forward passes is 78.5%. Frankly, this is an exceptional number for a 23-year-old player.

The main reason he achieved such huge numbers is his excellent vision. Atuesta examines the field thoroughly and determines the position of his team-mates precisely.

In this picture, even though he is faced the goal with his back, he noticed his teammate to move forward. So, Atuesta took advantage of the space in front of him to changed his body position and played a pass towards teammate Rossi.

This example also illustrates the player’s intelligence and good vision. Atuesta discovered an area between the lines and his teammate moved to it. But if it is passed directly to him, the opponent can intercept it. For this reason, he preferred a pass to Latif Blessing, to ensure that the ball reached Rossi between the line.

His excellent positioning also helped him achieve good passing numbers. Atuesta always tries to position himself in areas where he can provide useful and accurate passes to the team during the build-up phase.

In this picture, for example, his excellent positioning gives him many solutions, if the winger presses him, he will pass to Diego Palacios, if the pivot presses him, he will pass to Francisco Ginella, if he is not pressed, he will have enough time to play a pass towards Wright-Phillips.

Atuesta positioning and moves are beneficial to his team, even in the final third. In this picture, for example, Atuista notices that the Orlando City pivot is busy with Rossi. Atuesta took advantage of the situation and positioned behind his back.

On long passes, it is not bad either. It plays 4.95 passes, with a success rate of 58.6%. Longballs are also an important weapon that Atuesta relies on.

In this picture, Atuesta played a long ball behind the opponent’s backline. Thus Rodriguez can use his speed to reach the opponent’s goal.